The People Behind Swan Lake

Sasha Gorskaya, hailing from a small town in Belarus, always harbored a passion for the entertainment world. Armed with a master’s degree in Journalism from Belarusian State University, she quickly shifted her focus from writing to pursuing her true ambition: breaking into show business.

With a career spanning decades, Gorskaya has established herself as a seasoned producer, orchestrating an impressive array of projects from live music performances to large-scale ballet productions across Europe, the US, and beyond.

Her early professional journey included key roles in PR and production for the world-renowned Eurovision Song Contest, a pivotal experience that propelled her into co-founding the World Ballet Company, which produces and tours grand-scale ballet performances internationally.

Gulya Hartwick, originally from Riga, transitioned from a background in piano and psychology to a successful career in journalism and TV production before following her passion for the performing arts.

Since 2013, she has been channeling her creative energy into making the arts more accessible, co-founding the World Ballet Company with a mission. 

Gulya is driven by a strong belief that the exquisite beauty of ballet should be mainstream, a cultural treasure available to all, enriching lives globally.

Nadezhda Kalinina is an acclaimed choreographer of more than 60 choreographic works for various theatrical and concert programs. St. Petersburg Conservatory graduate. 

At the age of 14, she had already worked as a teacher of choreography and, by 15, had created her first choreographic classes—currently, she was the chief choreographer of the Omsk State Musical Theater.

Her ballets were staged in theatres of Russia and other countries, including the Mariinsky Theater, the St. Petersburg Chamber Opera Company, the St Petersburg Theater of Musical Comedy, the Voronezh State Opera and Ballet Theater, the National Opera and Ballet Theater of Baiseitova, the Rostov State Musical Theater, the Omsk State Musical Theater, the Musical Theater of the Republic of Karelia, the Sverdlovsk State Theater of Musical Comedy, the St. Petersburg State Theater Through the Looking Glass, Teatro Lirico Cagliari, and others.

Sergey Novikov is an acclaimed set and costume designer, St.Petersburg Repin Academy of Arts graduate, and the former principal designer of the Omsk State Musical Theater. 

As a production designer, he has worked on over seventy productions in the most prominent companies across the globe.

Sergey Novikov work is referred to as “a surprise and delight. They are so colorful and airy that they make one believe in magic!”

Marina Kesler graduated from the Tallinn School of Choreography in 1988 from the class of Tiiu Randviir and joined the ballet troupe of the Estonian National Opera. In 1992–2010 she worked as a teacher at the Tallinn Ballet School.  Since 2010, she works as a repetiteur at the Estonian National Ballet. In 1997, she obtained master’s degree from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS, Moscow). At the Estonian National Opera she has been the choreographer for several opera and operetta productions. She has created works also for Bel-Etage and Endla theatres.

She came among the three best at the X International Moscow Choreographers’ Competition 2005 and received a prize for the dance piece “Danse sacral” (I. Stravinsky) and for “Ne me quitte pas” (J. Brel). Marina Kesler received the Annual Estonian Theatre award in 2007 for “Werewolf” (Estonian National Opera) and in 2021 for her production of “Anna Karenina” (Estonian National Opera) to the music of Dmitry Shostakovich. In 2011 and 2021, she was awarded the Colleague Prize of the Estonian Professional Dancers’ Union and in 2021 the Ida Urbel grant by the Estonian Ballet Union.

PRODUCTIONS

“One Day” (2006)

“Bernarda Alba’s House” (2008)

“Werewolf” (to the music of L. Sumera, R. Kangro, A. Pärt and L. Auster, 2007)

“Othello” (to the music of A. Pärt, 2010; Israel Ballet Company, 2012; ESTO Days in San Francisco, 2013)

“The Generous Tree” (Nargenfestival, composer Tauno Aints, 2011)

Prokofiev’s “Cinderella” (2012)

Tubin’s “The Goblin” (2015)

“Death and the Maiden” (2015)

“Undine” (2016)

“Taming of the Shrew” (2018, Jerusalem Ballet)

“Three Sisters” (2019)

“Anna Karenina” to the music of Dmitry Shostakovich (2020)

“The Glass Menagerie” (2021)

Ballet Master for the following productions:

MacMillan’s “Manon” 

Cranko’s “Onegin”

Schiavoni’s “Medea”, “Alice in Wonderland”

Balanchine’s “Serenade”, “Who Cares?”

Edur’s “The Sleeping Beauty”, “Swan Lake”, “La bayadère”

Martinez’s “The Corsair”

Lifar “Suite en blanc”

Meckler/Ochoa/Salem’s “Streetcar Named Desire”

Skeaping’s “Giselle”

Harangoszó’s “Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs”

Stevenson’s “The Nutcracker”

Anna Fokina's journey into ballet began with the guidance of her mother, transitioning from a professional figure skating background to the world of ballet. She started training at a ballet school, later balancing her studies at the Conservatory with her work as a ballerina in a theater. Anna cherishes learning from some of the most distinguished figures in ballet, including Nikita Dolgushin, Nikolai Boyarchikov, Gabriella Komleva, and others who significantly influenced her artistic growth.

Her career is marked by a diverse repertoire and experiences across three different theaters, where she embraced roles in romantic, classical, and contemporary ballets. Anna's work with choreographers like George Balanchine, José Limón, and Jiří Kylián, along with her involvement in original productions by Nikita Dolgushin, Nikolai Boyarchikov, and Valentin Yelizariev, enriched her artistic journey.

Anna believes that a performance's success lies in the depth of understanding a role, which involves thorough research, collaboration with teachers, and a genuine connection to the character. She values mutual respect and understanding within the theater environment, which is crucial for success. Anna advises aspiring dancers to trust their teachers, remain committed to learning, and always strive to be their best.